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'Housing plan is needed to protect the district'




Plan vital to prevent developers building where they like

COUNCILLORS determined to protect West Berkshire from ‘shark-like’ developers clashed with those who felt that wrong sites had been identified at last Thursday’s Development Plan Document meeting.

With the district under pressure to build 665 houses a year until 2036, and a planning inspector granting permission to build at Firlands Farm in Burghfield Common because of out-of-date housing figures, Conservative councillors argued that the Development Plan Document (DPD) was needed to protect the district.

But residents in Tilehurst and Thatcham and Liberal Democrat councillors disagreed, arguing the selection of some sites was flawed.

The document went out to public consultation last year with the council aiming to approve the document in December 2014.

But this was delayed as officers had to analyse more than 4,000 responses they received.

Adrian Edwards (Con, Falkland) said that Newbury and Thatcham would have to take their share of development to address a shortfall in housing numbers, which was necessary to fend off imposed housing.

He said: “I can understand why residents are miffed about developments appearing in front of them where they haven’t before.

“I was very miffed when my gymnasium and leisure centre was sold off for housing.”

Nevertheless, he continued, it was necessary to pass the plan and residents would again be able to register their objections in the consultation, which will be considered by a planning inspector.

Some Conservative councillors objected to or abstained from voting for sites in their communities but then voted to pass the full DPD.

But Lee Dillon (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) argued that this tactic undermined residents’ wishes.

He said: “If you vote against in your spatial strategy but vote in favour of the DPD as a whole you are voting against your community’s wishes and you need to take that on-board.”

The leader of the West Berkshire Liberal Democrats Alan Macro (Theale) had called for some sites to be dropped from the list, including sites in Greenham and Thatcham’s Lower Way field, as he felt that they had not been assessed properly.

He also argued that the council could still meet its housing targets without these sites being included.

However, he was told that any amendments would negate the entire document.

Speaking to the Newbury Weekly News, Mr Macro said he was very disappointed with the decision as it meant that his party could not support the DPD.

And he said it was a shame that politics had been brought into the debate.

He said: “We found these problems [in the DPD] and thought it was wrong to start bringing names of political parties into the debate.

“I thought that was a great shame. There were a lot of things to talk about and that was completely unnecessary.”

When asked what the Lib Dems would have done with the DPD if they had won control of the council in the May elections, Mr Macro said he would have wanted to reassess the document.

He admitted that this could have been difficult owing to the Firlands Farm appeal.

He said: “I think we could have probably spent a few weeks just looking at these sites again and then submitted it.”

But he added there was still hope for some sites as the planning inspectorate would make the final decision on the DPD.

Paul Bryant (Con, Speen) agreed that he would have liked to see some sites removed, however, further delays in passing the document would lead to problems.

He said: “If we turn down this plan, delay it, if we amend it, then we are in some very difficult territory. Where we will no longer be plan-led, we will be developer-led. We might as well let developers develop as they wish and if that is what you want, vote against it.”

When asked last year on why the publication of the document had been delayed, Mr Bryant said: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing and had we known we would have formed a different timetable."



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